"Wait, did you say Lube? I mean, I know the species names of the Mutants are dumb as hell, but it's kinda hard to believe that there's a Mutant type called Lube," Remarked Mitchell skeptically.

Can't say I blame him...

"Yeah, well, Lubes are a very real Mutant species. They're actually not all that dangerous, they aren't aggressive and have no way to inflict pain or damage on a human. They look like colored blobs of jelly, and they have one of the fastest proliferation rates of all Mutants...they reproduce asexually, they multiply in the same way bacteria does...they're more like pests, really," I explained, as we continued making our way forward.

"You forgot the part where they're supposed to be super slimy and gross," Chimed in Suri with a tone of disgust.

"Wait, that's it? They don't sound like they warrant a Q-Rank," Responded Mitchell doubtfully.

"They're supposed to be difficult to kill," Replied Katie.

"Yeah, I'll probably have to take them on myself since they're most vulnerable against Dark Attribute XFE. They have a thin membrane that holds them together, kinda like a water balloon...except that it's super flexible and gelatinous. Piercing it kills them, but it's extremely difficult to do so. At least, that's what I've read about it," I informed him.

"Okay, that makes a bit more sense, I guess...but do these things really not have any attacks or anything? If they're so harmless, shouldn't they be J-Ranked, regardless of durability?" He asked doubtfully.

"Well, first off, I disagree with that last part, their proliferation rate makes them a threat, if their numbers aren't constantly kept in check, who knows how much they could multiply," I pointed out objectively "And second, some of them do develop a mild acidity or electric charge on their membrane, but that's hardly a concern, of all the recorded encounters against Lubes, the ones that develop acidity or electric charges have never been strong enough to harm a human."

"You sure seem to know a lot about these things, don't you?" Inquired Seila suspiciously.

"Well, yeah, I read up on all discovered and classified Mutants...oh, I mean classified as in classification of information, not classified as in secret information. I have a decent amount of knowledge about most Mutants," I replied with a shrug, not that she could see that since I was at the back, "Also, let me remind you guys that Lubes aren't the only Mutant type we're going to be facing, don't get fixated on the least threatening one."

"Yeah, good point, I guess...alright, then give us the rundowns on the rest of the Mutants we'll be encountering," Requested Mitchell.

"...do I have to?" I sighed reluctantly.

"I think it could be useful too," Chimed in Seila.

"Fine...but make sure to keep an eye out while listening, there's no point if you can't do both," I replied, before letting out a sigh as I started explaining what I knew...

...

"Hey, I think I see something...yeah, it's the lake! And wow...that's a lot of Mutants, some in the lake and the rest around it," Remarked Mitchell, after about fifty minutes had passed since we set off from the bunker.

"Alright, it's about time...okay, Suri and Seila, once it comes into sight, you two clear a path to the lake for Katie...Katie, you then use your lightning on the lake, that should take care of the Biteys and Fishsnakes...ugh, I can't take myself seriously with those dumb names. Anyway, where was I...right, once Katie starts electrifying the water, Mitchell, swoop down above her and manifest your tails, defend her while she does her thing. Meanwhile, Suri, Seila and I will take care of the Mutants around the lake, you two join in once you're sure that all the Mutants inside the lake are dead. Got it?" I instructed.

As they all replied affirmatively, I took a deep breath to compose myself and got ready, taking out my X-Blade handles. It wasn't long before the lake area came into sight, and Mitchell was right, there were a lot of Mutants.

"Hey, Mitchell, do you see the Lubes?" Inquired Seila warily.

"Hm...oh, yeah, I think I do! Behind the lake, as in the opposite end from the direction we're approaching from, there's a whole cluster of colorful, slithering globs."

"Hey, Kilzachs, Seila and I will fan out to the left and right after clearing a path for Katie, so could you-?" Suri began to request.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll take care of the Lubes," I replied with a sigh.

"You know, I'm supposed to just observe and only intervene if necessary, but I gotta say...you're doing great, little bro, you've got that leadership spark to you!" Grinned Kilella, smacking my shoulder playfully.

"Hey, I have an idea, why don't you fly up so that you can get a better view? Yeah, you should definitely do that," I replied dryly.

"You're so mean sometimes," She sighed with an exaggerated pout.

"...seriously, could you not right now?"

"Fine, I'll go up," She huffed, lightly smacking the back of my head before reciting her activation chant and flying up with a bored look on her face.

Tch, next time I'll make sure that she isn't assigned as observer for my team. Alright, then, we're almost at the lake, the Mutants had noticed our approach by now and were growling with ravenous looks on their faces, drool dripping down their jaws.

I activated my jetpack as Suri and Seila shot forward towards the lake, Katie not far behind them, and Mitchell starting to swoop down. Okay, let's do this...

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Mitchell Jones

———————————————————————————

"Alright, then, here goes...," I chanted, before swooping down as Suri and Seila rapidly and swiftly cut down the Mutants that were straight ahead of them, before splitting up as they reached the shore of the lake, Suri going right and Seila going left.

Katie then activated her Primary Manifestation as she closed in on the shore bank, and as she neared it, a couple of Fishsnakes shot out of the murky water with their mouths open, their sharp fangs visible. Katie's dragon head thingy swiftly chomped on them before they could chomp on her.

She then took a few cautious steps back away from the lake and tossed away the two Mutants she'd killed, before starting to charge up lightning in the mouth of her dragon head.

As I swooped down towards her, I swiftly opened my wings wide to halt above her, right as Mutants closed in on her from multiple directions. A few Fishsnakes slithered out of the lake, as a handful of Fancy Clack-Clacks-...you know what, I'm just gonna say eel monsters and lobster monsters, because I can't with these stupid names, even thinking them is embarrassing, I don't know how Kilzachs was able to say them out loud in a straight voice like he did.

The eel monsters were about three to four meters long and the lobster monsters were about two and a half to three meters long and about a meter tall, but they weren't all that fast. As one of the lobsters shot towards Katie, I grabbed it with one of my tails and slammed it onto the eels, killing them, before grabbing the lobster with another tail and pulling, tearing it in half and tossing it away.

Two more lobsters then sprang up on either side of her, I swiftly spun two of my tails down at them like drills, striking both of their backs, ripping through their exoskeletons and bursting holes through them, before I slammed one of my tails onto the ground with as much force as I could generate, as a few eels began to wriggle out from the lake, my tail crushing their heads flat.

The lightning around Katie's dragon manifestation was starting to crackle violently, looks like she's almost good to go...and there's still three lobster monsters around her. Not a problem.

I whipped two of my tails at one of them, cracking its exoskeleton and sending it flying through the air and falling into the lake, before grabbing the last two with three tails each for extra grip before slamming their heads together as hard as I could, both crushing upon impact...and some of the blood that burst out as a result ended up splashing Katie a bit. Oops, my bad.

She flinched a bit when it splashed on her, but it didn't upset her focus on charging up her lightning, thankfully...because if it had, it'd have totally been my fault.

"," She then chanted, blasting out a blindingly powerful and crackling burst of yellow lightning at the water, I quickly flew up to avoid getting splashed as it struck the water surface.

It crackled and sparked in a bright yellow burst of light, I could feel the static in the air, as water splashed and burst up, a small rainbow forming briefly as the water settled down. I then descended down towards Katie as she let out a quiet sigh and looked down at her clothes, which had Mutant blood splatter on them.

"Hey, nice work, that was-," I began, approaching her with my hand raised for a high five.

She glanced at me, before her forehead creased slightly, almost like she was frowning...she then swung her palm towards mine...and missed, instead hitting my face...oh, and her hand was covered in Mutant blood. She definitely did that on purpose.

"Hey, I got blood on you by accident, not cool!" I protested with a frown.

"This was an accident too," She replied icily, before turning away and walking towards the others.

Ugh...this blood smells horrible.

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